by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

No. 1 Alabama has retained its firm grasp atop the Bowl Championship Series standings despite playing a substantially easier schedule than Oregon and Florida State, the Crimson Tide's top two BCS rivals. Through two months, Alabama has played only three teams currently with a winning record â?? Virginia Tech, Texas A&M and Mississippi â?? and only one team, A&M, currently ranked in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Not that Alabama hasn't looked impressive against the weaker half of the SEC. The Tide played four games in October, three against league competition, and won all four games by a score of 190-20. Going back to Sept. 21, the week after beating the Aggies, Alabama has allowed only two offensive touchdowns and four drives of more than 65 yards.

The smooth schedule takes a turn in November. Starting Saturday against LSU, the Crimson Tide will play two teams currently in the top 15. These games provide the Tide with the opportunity to justify the No. 1 ranking, solidifying the team's BCS status in advance of a potential third national championship in a row and fourth in five years.

Here are nine other teams with something to prove this weekend in college football:

Brigham Young: The enigmatic Cougars remain in line for a 10-win regular season, though such an impressive finish â?? especially when considering the team's stout schedule â?? demands a victory Saturday at Wisconsin. No small task. But BYU has seemingly found its groove after an up-and-down start, one that sandwiched a year-building win against Texas with ugly losses to Virginia and rival Utah. Saturday's game presents a matchup of similarly bruising styles: BYU and Wisconsin share the same run-first traits, so the team that controls the line of scrimmage will undoubtedly land a premier non-conference win.

Minnesota: Ironically, the 7-2 Golden Gophers have played their best football in years with coach Jerry Kill sidelined indefinitely with health issues. Here's your statistic of the day: With a win Saturday against Penn State, Minnesota will have taken four Big Ten games in a row for the first time in 1973. Even if a long shot to take the Big Ten Legends Division, each win in 2013 builds increasing confidence heading into next season.

Nebraska: Saturday's all-important trip to Michigan will prove whether the Nebraska's last-second win against Northwestern was merely a temporary Band-Aid or a cure-all for what ails the Cornhuskers. Standing in their way is a Michigan team desperate for a spark of its own after being handled last weekend by rival Michigan State, 29-6. But the Wolverines are a different team at home than on the road â?? more careful with the football, more aggressive on defense, seemingly more energized.

Duke: With a bowl game secured, the Blue Devils can turn their gaze to a bigger prize â?? like the ACC Coastal Division championship, perhaps. To do so, Duke needs to go 4-0 in November, beginning with Saturday's game with North Carolina State, and have Georgia Tech lose to Clemson on Nov. 14, removing the Yellow Jackets' head-to-head tiebreaker. If the last two seasons have proved anything, it's that the common perception of Duke's place in the ACC pecking order has changed dramatically.

Texas: Come Sunday, Texas might be the only Big 12 to sit at 6-0 in league play. Surprised? The Longhorns have flipped the script after a disastrous opening month, running through the Big 12 unscathed to set up potential winner-take-all matchups with Oklahoma State and Baylor. After all is said and done, it could be UT â?? slammed and forgotten UT â?? that earns the Big 12's BCS bid. Judging by how the team has played away from home since October, the Longhorns should not be intimidated by the hostile road environment at West Virginia.

Houston: Fifteen automatic-qualifying teams have one or zero losses heading into Week 11. Of those 15, only one is not ranked in either poll â?? Houston, which has removed the sour taste of last season's 5-7 disaster with a 7-1 start. The Cougars are getting it done on offense, now piloted by freshman quarterback John O'Korn, but the big story has been the opportunistic play of Houston's defense. The reason for the lack of a national ranking is simple: Houston hasn't beat a team of consequence. That could change Saturday, when Houston visits current American Athletic Conference favorite Central Florida.

Notre Dame: The push for a BCS bowl continues against Pittsburgh, a team that nearly derailed the Fighting Irish's quest for a perfect regular season a year ago. The BCS seems like a bit of a long shot, though it's certainly a possibility: Notre Dame merely needs to run the table, netting impressive wins against BYU and Stanford, and have a handful of teams currently ahead in the BCS standings lose at least once.

Arizona: Behind the scenes, off the national radar, Arizona's Rich Rodriguez might be putting together the finest coaching job in the Pac-12. Last year's team â?? 8-5 in Rodriguez's first season â?? won on the back of its offense, one of the nation's best. This year's squad, while still led by All-American running back Ka'Deem Carey, has won games with a stingy, much-improved defense. Can the defense stop Brett Hundley and UCLA? Doing so would lift Arizona to 4-2 in the Pac-12, in turn leading to a rivalry game at Arizona State on Nov. 30 to decide a potential Rose Bowl berth.

Fresno State: The Bulldogs have only three games left in the regular season, beginning with Saturday's matchup with Wyoming, and have the potential for a fourth game against Boise State in the Mountain West Conference championship game. The team's biggest issue is the lack of marquee opponents down the stretch; at the same time, NIU is set to play 9-1 Ball State, with a convincing win perhaps good enough to lift the Huskies in the BCS. Wyoming has more than enough offensive firepower to knock off Fresno, which has won four of its eight games by a touchdown or less.

Paul Myerberg, a national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @PaulMyerberg.